Hello 2013

Hello 2013, nice to meet you…

…well, actually we hit a rough spot on the first day, but it was just a misunderstanding. Hopefully things will go much smoother from here on out.

The first week of the new year is done now and already I am feeling behind! But I’m ok with that. I was able to get into the studio today and all is right in my world now. I feel so fortunate that I have this access to contentment…when I paint, I really am able to shut it all out, smooth out the edges that may be poking through my psyche, take a deep breath in. This morning though, things did not seem to be going smoothly, I felt a bit stuck, meandering on the surface of my paintings. Luckily though, my process is such that not all that wandering is a loss. My layers of exploration build upon each other, inform each other, until I am able to get to the resolution.

work in progress shot

I’ve been thinking, as most people are, how I want my year to go. And basically I want to be able to wake up and be excited for the day to unfold. Is that too much to ask? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on one’s perspective on things. That’s something I’m working on.

I also want to write more in my journal. Last year I was absolutely terrible at keeping up with that, and it bothers me. I have this thing with journal-keeping. It grounds me. I am a memory keeper. I need to hold on to things. Writing it out also helps in letting go. I barely wrote last year and the absence makes me feel like a stranger to myself.

a journal entry from from July 2012

The plants in the above journal entry were actually drawn by Danny Mansmith– a fiber/textile artist I met in Chicago, but who now is located in Seattle. I bought one of his wonderfully stitched scarves and this drawing was included in the packaging. I loved it so much and the undulating linework remind me of him and his work, so I glued it into my journal and it prompted a really introspective journal entry. I need more of that in 2013.

Not all those who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkein